Film Crit Hulk Smash: HULK SMASHES THE PUNY PARADIGMS OF FILM CRITICISM WITH HULK-SIZED SEMIOTICAL ESSAYS ON STORYTELLING, CINEMATIC PRINCIPLES, AND MEDIA THEORY! HULK EVEN MAKE PRACTICAL HOW-TO GUIDES! See More...

Film Crit Hulk Smash: HOW HULK MET YOUR MOTHER AND THE NATURE OF FINALES

Hulk loves HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and he defends the final episode against a sea of outrage.

SO HULK BOTH WATCHES AND LOVES HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

IT'S A COMFORT SHOW, FOR SURE. ONE THAT YOU PROBABLY CALL "LOW INTENSITY," BUT CERTAINLY NEVER LOW IQ. WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THAT THERE TENDS TO BE SO FEW LOW-INTENSITY SHOWS THAT HULK ACTUALLY LIKES. SO MANY OF THEM ERR TOO MUCH ON THE SIDE OF CRASS STUPIDITY OR HAVE MEAN-SPIRITED UNDERPINNINGS FOR HULK TO REALLY ENJOY THEM (SEE REALITY TV). BUT HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER WAS ALWAYS THE ANTITHESIS OF THAT. IT WAS PRETTY THOUGHTFUL, FOR ONE. OR AT LEAST IT ALWAYS SEEMED TO CONTEXTUALIZE STUPIDITY WITHIN A LARGER MORAL COMPASS. IT EVEN HAD SOME PRETTY DAMN REASONABLE GENDER POLITICS ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (HELL, COMPARED TO MOST SITCOMS IT'S DOWNRIGHT PROGRESSIVE). BUT IT WAS ALSO A THREE-CAMERA SITCOM, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY MEANT THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO FELL FOR THE WHOLE FORM / FUNCTION THING AND ASSUMED IT WAS AN INANE LAUGH-TRACK OFFERING MORE IN LINE WITHTHE BIG BANG THEORY. NOT ONLY IS THIS UNTRUE, BUT HULK'S HARD PRESSED TO THINK OF ANOTHER TV COMEDY THAT SO HAPPILY PLAYED WITH THINGS LIKE STORY FORMATTING, UNRELIABLE NARRATION, TIMELINES AND INVENTIVE CHARACTERIZATION (BESIDES ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT OF COURSE).

AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS ALSO ONE OF THE FEW SITCOMS THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNAFRAID TO TAKE HARD LEFT-TURNS AND THROW ITS AUDIENCE INTO THE DEEP-END OF EMOTIONALITY WITH WEIRD TONAL GUT-PUNCHES. SOME OF THESE MOMENTS WORKED BETTER THAN OTHERS, BUT THE SHOW WAS NEVER AFRAID TO "GET REAL" SO TO SPEAK, OR AT LEAST DEAL WITH REAL CONCEPTS IN A FUNNY WAY. AND FOR A SHOW ABOUT LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS, IT'S ADMIRABLE HOW MUCH IT NEVER REALLY DIPPED INTO FRIENDS-ESQUE SOAP OPERATICS OR "VERY SPECIAL EPISODE" TERRITORY (THOUGH IT DID FALL INTO TOO-MUCH-TWEE TROUBLE SOMETIMES). POINT IS THAT IF YOU IGNORE HOW MANY DAMN CAMERAS THEY SHOT ON YOU REALIZE THAT, ON A THEMATIC LEVEL, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO REFLECT SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE LIFE-LIKE IN TERMS OF HOW WE SEE THE WORLD AND OPERATE WITHIN IT. AND FOR ALL THE PROBLEMS YOU COULD HAVE WITH THE MOMENTARY EXPRESSION OF THOSE IDEAS, LIKE COMMUNITY, IT IS ONE OF THE FEW SITCOMS THAT ACTUALLY PUT THE WHOLE "WHAT IT WAS SAYING" THING FIRST AND FOREMOST.

IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THE SHOW ALSO MADE A REAL CULTURAL IMPACT. ALONG WITH THE WHITE CASTLE MOVIES, IT HELPED REVEAL THE NATIONAL TREASURE THAT IS NEIL PATRICK HARRIS. AND WHAT STARTED WITH THE IMMENSE PLEASURE OF GIVING TV FAVORITES WILLOW ROSENBERG AND NICK ANDOPOLIS ANOTHER HOME SOON EVOLVED INTO THE JOY OF GETTING TO WATCH AN ACTUAL LOVING, FUNCTIONAL COUPLE EXIST ON TELEVISION (COMPLETE WITH THEIR OWN REAL PROBLEMS TOO). AND THEN THERE WAS THE UNEXPECTED JOY OF WATCHING COBIE SMULDERS EVOLVE FROM BEING A POTENTIAL ROUGH SPOT IN THE CAST INTO THE HANDS-DOWN FUNNIEST ACTOR ON THE SHOW (IT'S EASY TO FORGET THAT ACTORS JUST NEED REPS SOMETIMES). SERIOUSLY, WATCHING HER DEVELOP A SENSE OF TIMING FROM EPISODE TO EPISODE WAS SO DAMN FUN TO WATCH. WHICH JUST HELPS HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT THIS WAS A SHOW THAT ALSO EVOLVED QUITE NICELY ON THE WHOLE. EVEN AS IT WENT INTO THE FAMILIAR "WHEEL SPINNING" MODE AS IT CONFRONTED THE DAUNTING TASK OF STORYTELLING IN LATER SEASONS (NO SHOW REALLY EVER PLANS ON GOING NINE SEASONS), IT ALL CAME TOGETHER MORE-OR-LESS FOR THE FINAL SEASON, CULMINATING IN THE FINALE THAT AIRED MONDAY NIGHT.

FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH, HULK ENJOYED THE FINALE A GREAT DEAL, BECAUSE HULK FELT LIKE IT DID EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO DO. AFTERWARDS, NOT THINKING THAT IT WOULD REQUIRE SOME BIG TREATISE OR ANYTHING, HULK PROMPTLY WENT TO BED TO GET SOME SLEEP FOR ONCE. BUT, OF COURSE, HULK WOKE UP THIS MORNING TO SEE THAT APPARENTLY A LOT OF PEOPLE KIND OF SORT OF PRETTY MUCH HATED IT. AND ALSO OF COURSE, HULK'S KIND OF SADDENED BY THE SENTIMENT.

WHILE WE COULD START HAVING SOME SORT OF ARGUMENT ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF THE EPISODE RIGHT NOW, WE FIRST HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AT THE CENTER OF EVERY DISCUSSION ABOUT EVERY SERIES FINALE IS THE SAME ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WAS THE SHOW'S FINALE IN LINE OR OUT OF LINE WITH THE SHOW ITSELF?

THAT QUESTION CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS, OF COURSE. OUR PERSONAL EVALUATIONS OFTEN DEPEND ON WHETHER WE AS INDIVIDUALS VALUE THE LOGICAL AND STORY-DRIVEN COMPONENTS, THE CHARACTER-RESOLVING MOMENTS OR THE THEMATICALLY PROFOUND INSIGHTS. WHICH JUST MEANS THAT THE ONES THAT ARE OFTEN CONSIDERED "SUCCESSFUL" ON A CULTURAL LEVEL ARE THE ONES THAT SATISFY ON EVERY APPROACH. TAKE THE WIRE'S PITCH-PERFECT SHOWCASING OF HOW THE INSTITUTIONS AND PROBLEMS STAY THE SAME EVEN IF THE PIECES ON THE BOARD ALL CHANGE, LEAVING US TO REVEL IN THE CHARACTERS' SMALLEST VICTORIES AND ACCEPT THE MOST HORRIBLE OF DEFEATS. OR PERHAPS WE CAN CELEBRATE THE WAY BREAKING BAD EMBRACED THE COMPLETE FINALITY OF EVERY CAPACITY OF ITS STORY, EVEN MAYBE OFFERING CATHARSIS BEYOND WHAT WAS "DESERVED." OR PERHAPS WE CELEBRATE THE WAY THAT SIX FEET UNDER REALLY EMBRACED THE NATURE OF FINALITY, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE POETIC AND THE CONCRETE.

THE THING IS THAT MOST SHOWS, BY THEIR VERY NATURE, CAN'T REALLY CHECK OFF ALL THE BOXES LIKE THAT.

THAT'S JUST NOT WITHIN THE LANGUAGE OF THEIR MODUS OPERANDI. MOST HAVE TO AIM FOR THE KINDS OF SMALLER GESTURES THAT CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THE SHOW OR MAYBE EVEN THE IDEA TRANSITION ITSELF. AND TO PROVE IT'S NOT JUST A LOGICAL THING, TAKE THE SEINFELD FINALE, WHICH ACTUALLY MADE PERFECT SENSE ON THE LOGIC AND THEME LEVELS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT WASN'T FUNNY BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY MUCH JUST CALL-BACK JOKES IN A SHOW THAT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE NEW WEIRD NONSENSICAL ADVENTURE. MEANING THE PROBLEM WASN'T JUST THE WHOLE HULK'S COMEDY REPETITION / MAGIC ANALOGY, BUT THE FACT THAT IT FELT COMPLETELY UNFAMILIAR TO US AND THE SHOW WE HAD WATCHED FOR YEARS. SIMILARLY, HULK'S ARGUMENT WITH LOST WAS THAT EVEN THOUGH THE LOGICAL END OF THE FINALE WAS COMPELLING AND DRAMATIC (THE NOT-ANSWERING STUFF IS A BUNCH OF HOOEY), THERE WAS A BIG THEMATIC PROBLEM: THE SHOW HAD ALWAYS EMBRACED A SCIENTIFIC HYBRIDIZATION WITH FAITH AT THE DOOR OF THE UNKNOWABLE, BUT THE FINALE ABANDONED THAT IN FAVOR OF JAW-DROPPING GNOSTICISM AND THE KIND OF SENTIMENTALITY THAT RUNG TRUE TO THE AUDIENCE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHARACTERS, BUT NOT TO THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES. THEN THERE WAS THE WAY HULK RECENTLY TALKED ABOUT THE TRUE DETECTIVE FINALE, IN WHICH THE SHOW BEGGED TO BE REGARDED AS A PHILOSOPHICAL / THEMATIC DETECTION SERIES WHILE EVERYONE WAS TOO BUSY TURNING IT INTO A CONSPIRACY THEORY. OR PERHAPS BEST OF ALL, THERE IS OUR CULTURAL GROUND ZERO FOR THE WHOLE "FINALE IDENTITY" ARGUMENT: THE SOPRANOS, WHERE THE IN-YOUR-FACE NATURE OF A CUT-OFF AND THE PURELY THEME-DRIVEN FINAL DINER SCENE REVEALED JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE NEVER REALLY KNEW WHAT KIND OF SHOW THEY WERE WATCHING.

THAT MAY SOUND LIKE A SOMEWHAT JERKY THING TO SAY, BUT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT THING AT THE CRUX OF EVERYTHING WE CONSUME.

THERE'S THAT OBVIOUS ARGUMENT AT PLAY HERE THAT ALL GOOD TELEVISION IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. AFTER ALL, WE CAN WATCH SHOWS HOW WE WANT, DAMMIT. AND IN A HUMAN "THAT'S YOUR RIGHT" WAY, OF COURSE WE CAN. HULK'S NEVER TRYING TO ATTACK THAT NOTION. HULK'S JUST TRYING TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT THAT WE CAN DO WAY BETTER THAN THAT. TO PUT THIS NEED IN LARGER CONTEXT: HULK REMEMBERS GOING TO SEE AN EPISODE OF THE SOPRANOS OVER AT A FRIEND'S HOUSE AND AS IT WAS STARTING WE SUDDENLY HEARD HIS FRATTY NEIGHBORS CHEERING NEXT DOOR. WHY? BECAUSE THE VIEWER ADVISORY TOLD THEM THERE WOULD BE NUDITY... APPARENTLY THEY CHEERED OR BOOED EVERY WEEK. SO IS THIS AN "OKAY" WAY TO WATCH THE SHOW? NOT IN THE LARGER LEGAL SENSE WHERE OF COURSE IT'S OKAY, BUT IN THE SENSE OF FITTING INTO THE M.O. OF THE SHOW ITSELF? PERHAPS A BETTER QUESTION TO ASK IS: "DOES THIS THINKING FIT IN WITH EITHER THE SHOW'S INTENTION OR ITS ACTUAL TEXT?" OR "IS THIS SHOW RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THAT KIND OF VIEW?" HULK WOULD ARGUE "NO, COURSE NOT." IN FACT, THE SOPRANOS WAS ONE OF THE MOST THEMATICALLY RESPONSIBLE AND BRILLIANTLY REFLEXIVE SHOWS HULK CAN THINK OF. ONE THAT WAS CONSTANTLY POINTING THE FINGER BACK AT THE PEOPLE WHO ENJOYED IT "WRONG," SO-TO-SPEAK. WHY ELSE DID DAVID CHASE OPENLY ADMONISHED PEOPLE WHO ROOTED FOR TONY TO BE BADASS OR AWESOME FOR SIX SEASONS ONLY TO START WEIRDLY CALLING FOR HIS BLOOD BY THE FINALE? DESIRE FOR FINALITY OR CONVENTIONALITY ASIDE, THAT'S SIMPLY NOT WHAT THE SHOW WAS ABOUT. AND HULK SAYS IT ALL THE TIME, BUT "THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT." AND SINCE THE SOPRANOS WAS ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ABOUT TAKING YOU INSIDE THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TONY SOPRANO, HULK CANNOT THINK OF A MORE PERFECT FINAL SCENE TO EXPRESSES THAT REALITY.

NO MATTER WHAT WE BRING TO A SHOW AS AN INDIVIDUAL, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO DO OUR BEST TO ENGAGE AND MAYBE EVEN RESPECT THE TEXT OF WHAT A SHOW IS "ABOUT."

FOR THE WIRE IS ABOUT THINGS CHANGING BUT THINGS STAYING THE SAME. BREAKING BAD IS ABOUT A MAN SELFISHLY AND INADVERTENTLY UNDOING HIMSELF IN THE NAME OF EGO (CUE: A RICOCHETED BULLET), SIX FEET UNDER WAS ALWAYS, QUITE OBVIOUSLY, ABOUT DEATH. TRUE DETECTIVE WAS ALWAYS ABOUT PEELING BACK THE LAYERS OF ICONOGRAPHY OF AN EVENT ITSELF TO FIND THE BROADEST PHILOSOPHICAL IDEA AT PLAY. AND WHATEVER HULK'S FEELINGS ABOUT THE SPECIFICS, EVEN HULK HAS TO ADMIT THAT LOST WAS ALWAYS REALLY A SHOW ABOUT FINDING SALVATION, AND SO WHO CAN BLAME IT FOR GOING THERE IN THE MOST DIRECT WAY POSSIBLE? THE THING IS THAT FOR ALL THESE SHOWS, THE ENDINGS WERE THE CONCEIT.

AND LIKE THESE SHOWS, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER WAS ALSO BUILDING TO A VERY SPECIFIC IDEA AT THE HEART OF ITS CONCEIT. TO BE QUITE HONEST, HULK WAS SURPRISED HOW DEFTLY THEY HANDLED THE EXECUTION OF IT. NOW, YOU COULD ARGUE THE FINALE HAD SO MUCH INTERESTING "STORY INFORMATION" GOING ON THAT IT FELT LIKE TOO MUCH MEATY STUFF WAS WHIZZING BY (MANY ARGUED THE LAST EPISODE COULD MAKE FOR AN ENTIRE SERIES OVER A FRIVALOUS WEDDING). OR YOU COULD ARGUE THAT THE FINALE HAD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TONE, AS IT WAS CERTAINLY A SOBERING EPISODE ON THE WHOLE. BUT BY NO MEANS WAS IT OUT OF CHARACTER WITH THE WAY THE SHOW HAS DRAMATIZED THIS STORY MANY, MANY TIMES BEFORE. AND BY NO MEANS LET US CALL WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END A TWIST, AS ALL OF IT HAD BEEN DIRECTLY FORESHADOWED MANY, MANY TIMES AS WELL. THIS IS WHAT THE SHOW HAD BEEN ALWAYS LEADING TOWARD. NOT JUST WITH THE TEASING PLOT ELEMENTS (LIKE A HUGE THEMATIC TIE WITH TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S PERSONAL LIFE - BIG PROPS TO @FASTBAK77 FOR POINTING THAT OUT), BUT FROM THE CORE CONCEIT ITSELF.

BECAUSE FROM THE VERY FIRST EPISODE, TED WAS LABELED AS AN INSUFFERABLE ROMANTIC WHO ALWAYS GOES TOO BIG FOR A MOMENT IN AN UNEARNED WAY; A GOOD-HEARTED SOUL WHO ALWAYS PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, FOR ALL ITS FOCUS ON FUN, WAS ABOUT THE MATURE ERASURE OF THAT. AND NO, IT WASN'T ABOUT TED LOSING WHO HE WAS AND BECOMING CYNICAL ABOUT LOVE ITSELF. IT WAS ABOUT LEARNING TO PUT ALL THOSE WELL-MEANING INSTINCTS INTO SOMETHING EARNED AND REAL. AND UNLIKE EVERY HOLLOW ROMANTIC COMEDY EVER THAT TAKES THAT SAME INCLINATION, ONLY TO INTRODUCE SOME FALSE CYNICISM BEFORE RESCUING THE PERSON WITH A DEUS EX MACHINA CHANGE OF HEART, THIS SHOW WAS ACTUALLY ABOUT LEARNING TO SEE LOVE IN A MORE REALISTIC, LESS PUT-UPON WAY. LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF TEXT AND YOU'LL SEE THAT EVERY TIME TED SOUGHT THE IDEAL OVER THE EARNED, IT DIDN'T WORK OUT. AND EVEN IN TERMS OF CHARACTERIZATION, FEW SEEMED TO NOTICE THE CAREFUL EVOLUTION TOWARD REALISM IN RADNOR'S (HUGELY UNDERRATED) PERFORMANCE IN THIS SHOW, WHICH SIMPLY WOULD NOT HAVE WORKED IF HE DIDN'T WORK. AND DESPITE ALL THE SITCOM CRAZINESS OF THAT JOURNEY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE'VE THOUGHT THE UNIVERSE WOULD SAVE HIM FROM CYNICISM LIKE SO MANY ROMANTIC COMEDIES HAVE BEFORE, THE SHOW HAS NEVER REALLY WAVERED FROM THAT CENTRAL M.O.: THIS IS ABOUT MATURE LOVE. WHICH HELPS US REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT THE MOTHER WASN'T SO MUCH ABOUT THE NONSENSE DESTINY ANGLE (WHICH JUST TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD FODDER FOR THEIR MEET-CUTE), BUT HOW EVERY OTHER BIT OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS GROUNDED IN THE DEFYING OF LOFTY EXPECTATIONS OF LOVE ITSELF. THE DREAM WEDDING. THE GRAND PLANS. NONE OF IT MATTERED COMPARED TO THE LITTLE UNEXPECTED JOYS AND THE DEPTHS OF THEIR EARNEST DEVOTION. EVEN WHEN IT CAME TO THE ULTIMATE LOSS OF TRACY'S LIFE, IT SIMPLY REVEALS ONE LAST ERASURE OF THE CENTRAL TENET OF "DESTINED LOVE" ITSELF: THE HUMANE UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE ISN'T ONE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE FOR ANYTHING. THERE IS NO "THE ONE."

BECAUSE REAL LOVE IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO BUILD WITH SOMEONE. IT JUST TAKES TIME. CONSIDERATION. AN OPEN HEART. LOTS OF LUCK. AND SOMEONE WHO WANTS THE SAME THING AT THE SAME TIME. AND TO SOMEHOW GET A CAPITAL T-TRUE FINALE THAT HAS BUILT TWO DISTINCT CASES FOR HOW THIS KIND OF LOVE CAN EXIST, BOTH EARNED. BOTH REAL, AND BOTH ACCEPTING OF THE OTHER, TURNS IT INTO MAYBE ONE OF THE MOST UNPRETENTIOUS CHARACTERIZATIONS OF LOVE THAT HULK'S SEEN ON A TV SHOW. IT WASN'T ABOUT THE MOTHER. IT WASN'T ABOUT ROBIN. AND IT WASN'T A FAKE-OUT. IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE ABOUT BOTH OF THEM. AND IT WAS ABOUT ALL THE WAYS IN WHICH BOTH OF THEM CAN BE POSSIBLE.

BUT PERHAPS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THE VERY LAST GESTURE OF THE SHOW ITSELF, ASIDE FROM WHAT IT IS SAYING IN THIS REGARD, IS HOW DAMN PLAIN IT FEELS; IT'S THE WAY TED JUST SHRUGS AS HE HOLDS IT, STARING UP AT HER. IT CONFIRMS EVERYTHING THE SHOW HAS BEEN TRYING TO SAY. UNLIKE THE TED OF NINE YEARS AGO, IT'S NOT A BELLOWING DECLARATION. TED UNDERSTANDS THAT THE LOVING INSTINCT IN HIM DOESN'T NEED TO BE SHOUTED. IT CAN JUST BE SHOWN FOR WHAT IT IS. IT HELPS REVEAL HOW HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER IS REALLY JUST A STORY OF TWO PEOPLE GOING THROUGH SO MANY UPS AND DOWNS TO GET "CYNICAL" ENOUGH TO SEE HOW IMPORTANT A BLUE HORN REALLY IS.

HULK UNDERSTANDS HOW THAT CAN GET LOST IN THE MYRIAD OF OUR COLLECTIVE APPROACHES. HULK EVEN GETS THAT IT MAY FALL SHORT IN TERMS OF THE WAY YOU MOST ENJOY THE SHOW. IT ALL JUST PLAYS INTO THIS WEIRD THING THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES WHERE PEOPLE ASSUME THAT HULK IS GIVING THINGS A PASS. THAT HULK DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE FEEL THE WAY THEY DO OR THAT HULK ISN'T ACCOUNTING FOR THE WAYS IN WHICH CERTAIN THINGS DON'T WORK. OF COURSE HULK UNDERSTANDS WHY YOU FELT THIS WAY. IT'S JUST THAT TO HULK, THIS GETS RIGHT INTO THE ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH "CHECK ALL THE BOXES" EXPECTATIONS OF EVALUATING ART (ESPECIALLY SERIES FINALES) BECAUSE OF HOW READILY IT UNDERMINES THE LARGER FUNCTION OF ART: WHICH IS TO TRY AND MAKE SOME KIND OF PURPOSEFUL STATEMENT ABOUT A COMPLEX IDEA OF MEANING OR IMPORT, OFTEN AT THE COST OF CONVENTIONAL THOUGHT AND EXPECTATION ITSELF. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY THE VERY POINT OF CRITICISM, OR AT LEAST THE MOST RESPONSIBLE THING WE CRITICS CAN DO, IS TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE MEANING AND VALUE OF A PIECE OF ART THAT PEOPLE MIGHT OTHERWISE OVERLOOK; TO TRY AND GET AT THE HEART OF THE THING AND CONVEY ALL THE WAYS THAT IT MAY INDEED BE "GOOD."

IT'S NOT IGNORANCE. IT'S JUST MAKING A CASE FOR SOMETHING.

SO IN A CULTURE WHERE WE TEND TO OVER-CELEBRATE THE EDGY 13-EPISODE SCREW-TURNERS OVER THE LITTLE FUN AND FLUFFY "LOW INTENSITY" EFFORTS, THE MORE HULK WILL TRY TO ARGUE THAT A SHOW LIKE HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER HAS SUBSTANTIAL MERIT. AND THE MORE HULK THINKS ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THE FINALE WAS SAYING, THE MORE HULK LIKES IT. THE MORE HULK SMILES. THE MORE HULK SEES HOW IT LINES UP WITH THE GOALS OF THE SHOW. THE MORE HULK SEES SOMETHING PRETTY DAMN RESONANT. TAKE THAT FOR WHAT YOU WILL. BUT ALL HULK CAN ARGUE IS THAT WHETHER OR NOT THE TONE OR SPECIFICS OF THE FINALE WAS WHAT YOU WANTED THE SHOW TO BE...